Going for Gold #NursesActive

Posted by: NHS Horizons - Posted on:

Originally published by Bev Matthews – 14th August 2019

We are now into week 2 of #WeActiveChallenge – a challenge for us all to get a little more active than we were yesterday, and the day before that too. 

In my last blog I set out my ambitions for week one and I am so chuffed that I have largely kept to them. I think one of the key reasons, having learnt from previous mistakes of being over ambitious, I kept them realistic and achievable: 

  • Taking the bus instead of the car meant walking either side of the journey, 
  • Chunking the gardening down into bite-sized pieces means that I am now seeing progress rather than defeat,  
  • Keeping focused and ‘in the moment’ means that my efforts at the plank are now at 1 minute – and my core is getting stronger! 

All of these small steps leave me feeling hopeful that I can sustain this pace, and not just for August! The campaign is creating a virtual community – an informal team if you like of like-minded people, working at different paces, with individual yet collective ambitions.  

I shared this in the recent #OurNHSPeople tweet chat in answer to the question: What kind of teams are you part of?

I was thinking about the magic of “informal teams” and what they have the power to achieve when I read about “Relational Activism” in a tweet posted by Helen Bevan, sharing the work of Becca Dove and Tim Fisher - I am looking forward to following this theory with interest. 

For now, back to #NursesActive – by posting a photo of activities along with the hashtag (plural Nurses!!) I can track my achievements – and points mean prizes! A few days ago I achieved my bronze and then silver #WeActiveChallenge medals.  

Now it’s time to get serious and go for gold! 

bridging of relational philosophy and conventional activism allows for a wide lens and a broad tent, where disciplines of all manner of shapes and sizes might find a common identity, values and belonging. Becca Dove and Tim Fisher